Senate update: Dems say new machines found in Buffalo (update)

Two new voting machines were located last night in Buffalo, according to Sen.-elect Mike Gianaris, a Democratic attorney helping his party’s efforts in ballot counting.

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Antoine Thompson trails GOP challenger Mark Grisanti by 821 votes, but Gianaris said the new voting machines and how they’ve been handled are a “total disaster” and “complete mess,” adding that lawyers for Thompson are considering legal action that might force a complete recount of paper ballots optically scanned by the machines.

This would involve an amount of paper not seen in 50 years; elections in recent New York history have until this year been conducted with mechanical voting machines, not electronic machines that scan paper ballots. Such a recount would take a long time, to the dismay of people hoping the Senate will be clearly decided before January, when it is set to reconvene.

“It puts a cloud over the whole process,” Gianaris said of the machine irregularities. “And how we handle this is going to set the tone for around the state.”

He said that there are no problems with the machine, and the found machines are “plan B” votes cast because people couldn’t use other, regular machines.

Democrats must win Thompson’s seat, as well as seats held by Sens. Suzi Oppenheimer and Craig Johnson, to maintain a 32-30 majority in the chamber. Oppenheimer is leading her GOP challenger, but Johnson is trailing.

“The people of Erie and Niagara Counties deserve confidence in the integrity of the electoral process and to know their vote was fully, fairly and honestly counted. The stunning number of vote count irregularities, software malfunctions, and the sudden and inexplicable appearance of new machines three weeks after Election Day have compromised this process and left too many questions unanswered.

“Despite clear regulations regarding how voting machines are to be handled after the close of polls, new machines continue to appear. Where did they come from? Who had access to them? How do entire machines disappear for nearly 3 weeks in an election this close? The lack of answers to these questions is appalling and casts a cloud of uncertainty that will taint the integrity of the election results if left unanswered.

“The sudden emergence of new voting machines is not all: the technology used to produce and record voting results continues to malfunction; efforts by the private software manufacturer to fix the machines occurred behind closed doors with no oversight; and many functioning machines are producing different figures today than was reported on election night. The utter failure of these voting machines warrants significant scrutiny from election officials and the public.

“Unless and until these questions are fully and fairly answered, Western New Yorkers will not have the full and fair count of their votes they deserve. The standards imposed during this effort will determine state election law for at least the next decade. We need an open, transparent, and honest process where every vote is counted and every question answered to preserve the public’s trust in the electoral process.”